1. Field
The present invention relates generally to devices for material application. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention concern a liquid applicator with fingers that support a flexible liquid applicator pad.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Various forms of brushes have been employed for manual application of liquid coatings (e.g., paints, stains, and varnishes) to surfaces. Handheld bristle brushes are one type of prior art brush used for applying such coatings and come in numerous shapes and sizes. Another conventional handheld brush used to apply coatings is a foam brush, which includes a handle and a piece of foam attached to a distal end of the handle.
Conventional brushes for coating application suffer from certain undesirable limitations. Bristle brushes, while adaptable to manually apply coatings to various surfaces, are not well suited for applying liquids uniformly in a single brush stroke, particularly when the single brush stroke has a broad stroke width and/or is intended to cover a surface that undulates across the stroke width. Furthermore, bristle brushes are often ineffective for uniformly applying relatively low viscosity coatings. Prior art foam brushes also are deficient when used to uniformly cover a surface in a single brush stroke when the surface undulates across the stroke width.